Page 1 - Sanger Herald 9-13-18 E-edition

Officers train
to keep schools safe
Looking for a home
Luis Ortiz pitches for Orioles
page 8A
Lifestyles 3B
Sports 1B
Weekly Newspaper
Michael Montelongo
Former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
With the flag at the entrance to Sanger High School flying at half staff early Tuesday morning, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Michael Montelongo slowly ticked off the events that occurred on that day 17 years ago.
In the audience were police, firefighters, military personnel, city and school district officials and high school students - several in NJROTC uniforms - all with solemn faces - a few blinking away tears as Montelongo spoke.
He checked off the events from 7:59 a.m. when an American Airlines Boeing 767 with 81 passengers and 11 crew members left Boston for Los Angeles – with five hijack-
Sanger (Fresno County) CA 93657 50¢ (tax included) Coping with chaos
ers aboard to 5:20:33 p.m. when the 47-story World Trade Center, Building 7, collapsed.
“You have little or no personal memory of that day. That's why the timeline,” Montelon- go said, looking at the high school students.
“It was a day when 2,977 died and more than 6,000 were injured. It became a defining moment in our history.”
Montelongo was in the Pentagon at 9:37:46 a.m. when Flight 77 crashed into the building.
“Why should we remember that day? It's our solemn obligation to remember the victims and the first responders who in our darkest hour served as beacons of light.”
Montelongo urged greater focus on our common goals as Americans as a way to honor those who died.
“We need to learn to work together to get things done. We need to find common ground. We need to reconnect ourselves as Ameri- cans.”
Montelongo was nominated by President George W. Bush as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management. He was formerly a Senior Project Manager with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in Atlanta and has been with Ernst & Young since 1999.
After the early morning ceremony in front of Sanger High School Montelongo attended a special assembly in the multipurpose room where he answered questions from students.
You can see photos of the event on the Sanger Herald Facebook page.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerherald@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
'We hope we never have to use this training. But if it ever happens, we'll be ready.'
- Capt. Kent Matzuzaki
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
It was about coordinating efforts of police, firefighters, paramedics and school person- nel to deal with someone firing shots on a school campus. That's what was going on at the high school on Saturday – all day – an active shooter response training exercise.
The morning was primarily devoted to classroom activities involving overall goals, job responsibilities, team movements and dealing with the public and the media.
You may have heard “shots” fired Sat- urday afternoon as classroom training was tested with a live scenario involving someone in the role of an active shooter, officers re- sponding to neutralize the threat, members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and paramedics following up with tri-
Kent Matsuzaki
age, treatment and transportation of victims - and school district personnel involved with students, parents and all aspects of the train- ing exercise.
The “shots” were blanks fired to start the exercise. The “responding” officers were using AR-15s that were cleared of live ammu- nition and secured so they could not be fired during the exercise.
You can read all about the afternoon's very realistic exercise on page 3B.
“We hope we never have to use this train- ing,” said police Capt. Kent Matsuzaki. “But if it ever happens, we'll be ready.”
Matsuzaki, fire Capt. Todd Wilson and Mid Valley Publishing's Juanita Adame were the morning instructors.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerherald@gmail.com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
Sanger's Galaxy of Heroes
This Saturday's Street Faire and Farmers' Market will honor first respond- ers and those who are serving or who have served in the military.
The free event in downtown Sanger, from 5-9 p.m., will also feature dis- plays, entertainment, games, food and arts and crafts booths and dogs and a kitty from the animal shelter hoping to be adopted.
Sanger man killed in motorcycle accident
Herald staff report
A Sanger man, Cande- lario Sanchez Robles, 29, was killed in a motorcycle acci- dent on Jensen Avenue at the DeWolf Avenue intersection.
Robles died from injuries suffered after his 2010 Duca- ti 848 motorcycle collided with a 2006 Lexus driven by another Sanger resident on Sept. 4. The accident remains under investigation.
Phat Al's Bar in Sanger hosted an open bar Monday evening to raise donations for Robles' family.
Robles worked as a Sanger barber.
The City Council responds to the grand jury
THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
VOL 129 NO. 3
2 sections, 14 pages
CLASSIFIED 3B LEGALS 4,5B BUSINESS DIRECTORY 6B LIFE STYLES 2B OBITUARIES 2A OPINION 3A SPORTS 1B POLICE LOG 2A WEATHER 8A
By Dick Sheppard
Sanger Herald
The Sanger Herald, keeping with a tradition going back to 2009, is publishing an official response to a grand jury report.
This is the fourth grand jury report about Sanger governmental
issues in less than 10 years.
The previous reports were is-
sued in 2009, 2012 and 2015 and may be viewed on the Sanger Her- ald website.
The following response is to a June 15, 2018, grand jury report - "City of Sanger Ordinance No. 1094 - Measure S."
The response, addressed to superior court presiding judge, Alan Simpson, was signed by mayor Frank Gonzalez on behalf of the city council.
The response is to the grand jury's seven "Findings" and eight "Recommendations."
The grand jury report was pub-
lished in the June 21 edition of the Herald.
The Measure S Citizens Over- sight Committee also responded to the grand jury and that response was published in the Sept. 6 edition of the Herald.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerherald@gmail.com.
Re: CityofSangerResponsestoFresnoCountyGrandJury Final Report No.2: City of Sanger Ordinance No. 1094 - Mea- sure S
On June 15, 2018, the Fresno County Grand Jury issued a Final Report regarding City of Sanger Ordinance No. 1094
- Measure S. As required by Penal Code Section 933 (c), the City Council of the City of Sanger respectfully submits the following responses to the Findings and Recommendations in the Report. The Report references the Mayor and City Manager as "respondents." The term "City" is used in the responses to refer collectively to the Mayor, Council, and City Manager. The term "CoC" is used to refer to the Citizens Oversight Committee.
FINDINGS
Finding 1: Public safety has greatly benefitted from Measure
S revenues in the City of Sanger.
Response 1: The City agrees with Finding 1. Public safety
in the City has significantly improved and the community has benefitted from the passage of Measure S. Our public safety departments have also benefitted. The Police and Fire Departments are able to provide better public safety services to City residents because of Measure S. A review of Measure
S expenditures from its inception through 201 7 shows that close to $13M has been expended for salaries and benefits, supplies, and equipment for the Police Department and Fire Department public safety activities.
In addition to being able to hire six additional officers and four fire personnel because of Measure S, both departments have been able to utilize the Measure S resources for a broad range of expenditures in every facet of operations. Examples of purchases for department-wide benefit include:
2 Fire Engines
4 Ambulances
25 new handheld radios
4 new fixed radio communication systems
4 patient gurneys
4 new cardiac monitor/defibrillators
20 new self-contained breathing apparatus with new masks 25 new sets of personal protective equipment (helmets,
jackets, hoods, pants and boots)
25 sets of wildland personal protective equipment (hel-
mets, jackets and pants)
2 thermal imaging cameras
27 Mobile Digital Computers for Officers to use in police
cars
1 Drug detection Police K-9 / approved purchase of 2nd.
2 Police specially equipped K-9 vehicles
67 Glock handguns to replace the firearms in use by De- partment Officers.
26 Tasers for Officers, replacing older version of Tasers in use.
See CITY COUNCIL GRAND JURY RESPONSE 6A
• Sept. 13 - Planning commission meeting, 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th St.
• Sept. 15- Galaxy of Heroes, 5-9 p.m., in downtown Sanger. The second of four Street Faires and Farmers' Mar- kets, each Saturday in September.
• Sept. 20 - Joint city council/planning commission meeting, 6 p.m. at city hall, 1700 7th St.
SANGER HERALD: A MID VALLEY PUBLISHING NEWSPAPER • (559) 875-2511 • www.thesangerherald.com